‘Harry Potter’: Robert Pattinson Was Not the First Actor to Play Cedric Diggory

Robert Pattinson might be about to play Batman. But he first caught the attention of audiences everywhere as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. As fans know, that story — and Cedric’s fate — is a pivotal one for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. As much as Pattinson is associated with Cedric, he wasn’t really the first actor to play the Hogwarts student.

‘Twilight’ wasn’t Robert Pattinson’s first popular movie series

Compared to most other Harry Potter stars, Pattinson hasn’t been that closely tied to the franchise. Perhaps this is largely due to the release of Twilight just a few years later. Despite his role in Harry Potter, Pattinson is probably still best known to mainstream audiences as Edward Cullen. But he brought an inherent charm and screen presence to Cedric first.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cedric has the unenviable task of competing against the title character — played, of course, by Daniel Radcliffe — in the Triwizard Tournament. Due to mysterious circumstances, both Cedric and Harry wind up representing Hogwarts in the competition. But the two Gryffindors have gone up against each other before.

Cedric Diggory appears in ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’

Cedric makes his first on-screen appearance during a Quidditch sequence in 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Stuntman and actor Joe Livermore played the role, as Cedric attempts to beat Harry to the Golden Snitch, according to MovieFone.com. 

Given Cedric’s much more integral role, Pattinson took over as the character in his next appearance. After all, Cedric isn’t even named on-screen in the third film. So most fans probably never even realized Cedric showed up before. It’s just another instance of the movies making necessary cuts and changes to the books.

Throughout the Harry Potter series, some elements of the books are barely featured in the movies until they become essential to the plot. For instance, Cho Chang (Katie Leung) makes her debut in the third book but first shows up in the fourth Harry Potter movie.

Pattinson will next play the Dark Knight himself in ‘The Batman’

Pattinson’s career has grown so much since his Harry Potter days. Now on the other side of the Twilight franchise as well, the actor has been slowly building up his credibility on the big screen. The past few years have seen him deliver compelling, critically acclaimed turns in movies such as Good Time and The Lighthouse.

And Pattinson must be satisfied with his break from franchise fare. In 2021, he’ll become the latest actor to don the cape and cowl as the Dark Knight himself. Writer/director Matt Reeves reportedly has something fresh in mind for Pattinson’s Batman. But seeing as the movie is still a mystery, fans will have to wait until much closer The Batman’s October 2021 release date